the Fly Clone Project

I got my first parker about a year ago but just recently found this forum and thought I would introduce myself. This is my 96 Delux. I have been playing for 25 years or so mostly as hobbyist and am blown away by this guitar. I have Strats, SG's a Les Paul and some custom stuff and the parker makes them all feel cheap. I also recently got an AXE FX III and am down the modeling rabbit hole.

I am considering sending my Parker off to Roman Guitars to have them change out all of the electronics and switch the pick ups.... for the people that have done this are you happy that you spent the $600?

Looking forward to learning more on this forum and thanks for everyone that made it possible!

-Saxon

Madhatter10-6 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 06, 2022 5:27 pm I am considering sending my Parker off to Roman Guitars to have them change out all of the electronics and switch the pick ups.... for the people that have done this are you happy that you spent the $600?

Firstly, welcome! If you're referring to Ed Roman's store in Vegas, I'd personally recommend not moving forward with paying them $600 to take your parts and sell them to someone else. If you don't mind my asking, what are you wanting done, and why are you needing all the original components replaced? Because there are a number of alternative repairpersons that would likely be either closer or cheaper (Unless of course there's a Roman Guitars local to you).

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Thu Oct 06, 2022 6:17 pm Firstly, welcome! If you're referring to Ed Roman's store in Vegas, I'd personally recommend not moving forward with paying them $600 to take your parts and sell them to someone else. If you don't mind my asking, what are you wanting done, and why are you needing all the original components replaced? Because there are a number of alternative repairpersons that would likely be either closer or cheaper (Unless of course there's a Roman Guitars local to you).

Correct that was the store I was referring to. I was thinking of replacing / upgrading the main pick ups in the guitar. Its not that I am unhappy with them but rather I have a glitch that makes me constantly need to upgrade everything lol. I'm a huge car, powerlifting, computer, gun, enthusiast and am constantly tweaking on everything. So if there is "more" available out of the Parker I was interested in exploring that. I have read that the pickups are a weak point on Gen 1's and a lot of people seemed very happy with an upgrade. But like I mentioned there really isn't anything in particular that I am displeased with so maybe leave good enough alone?

I am open to ideas on other shops / mods / etc.

Also Ed Roman isn't local to me... I'm in Lexington KY and was thinking about shipping.

Thanks!

Madhatter10-6 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 06, 2022 11:08 pm I have read that the pickups are a weak point on Gen 1's and a lot of people seemed very happy with an upgrade. But like I mentioned there really isn't anything in particular that I am displeased with so maybe leave good enough alone?

My main concern is that Roman Guitars has a pretty negative reputation dating back to the 1980s. If everything on your guitar is working as intended, understand that most of the under-the-hood mods people make to their ‘90s Flys tend to be complete retrofittings of the electronics assembly due to an irreplaceable component failing.

The pickups are actually straightforward to replace - It’s just that very few shops are willing to take on the “risk” of assuming liability for an out-of-production guitar full of unfamiliar and proprietary parts that can't be sourced. The stock pickups are essentially a Dimarzio Tone Zone/Air Norton combo - What pickups do you prefer?

Concerning alternative shops/techs and your willingness to ship, I can personally vouch for a member in Washington who will do whatever you want for what’s likely the best price. He and various businesses are catalogued in this thread of vetted techs.

Thanks so much for taking the time to write / explain all of this!

I have a fairly solid background in modifying things / fabrication so switching out pick ups doesn't intimidate me.

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Thu Oct 06, 2022 11:58 pm What pickups do you prefer?

That's the question...I guess. I don't know. Did you change yours out? If so to what and did you like them? From what I can tell its removing factory and soldering two wires so I am comfortable with doing that myself. I am kind of just wanting to explore options at this point. I really like the current setup but am just curious if there is "more".

Hi and welcome.
My 2 cents: you have in your hands a perfect instrument. Don’t mess with it unless it’s broken.
Parker Flys are the epitome of what a guitar should be.
The pickups have been maligned by uninformed people who claim the guitar is “sterile”. Nothing farther from the truth.
Especially with an Axe Fx3.
Enjoy!!!!

While I agree with Pat’s sentiments, it seems Madhatter10-6 may share my nature as a relentless tinkerer and tone-chaser.

Madhatter10-6 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 9:57 am Did you change yours out? If so to what and did you like them? From what I can tell its removing factory and soldering two wires so I am comfortable with doing that myself.

If you replace the pickups in what I assume is the stock '90s circuit, you’ll be replacing the start, finish, and series-connected wires of each pickup on the (I think) 4P3T selector switch (which grounds the series connections for “inner coils in parallel” in the middle switch position) and the baseplate ground wires soldered to one of the pot casings. This thread details swapping pickups in a Ken-era Fly (though many of the posts pertain to swapping in a different brand).

Most of my guitars have different pickups; and perhaps one of these days I’ll finally finish recording demos for the ones I have in my Flys (I seem to jinx any project I mention on this site by not getting around to it until at minimum a year later).

My Flys have or have had Dimarzio Fly Gen 1s and 2s modded and in different positions, Gravity Storm set, PAF Joe in neck and bridge, PAF Master in neck, Bluesbucker in neck and bridge, Sustainiac in neck, Dimarzio Air Classic in bridge, and Vintage Vibe 12k humbucker in bridge. Though I still may have managed to forget some, I’ve also previously owned a Mojo with a Duncan JB/Jazz combo.

The short of it is that I prefer low output pickups in a Fly because these guitars tend to reflect a ton of energy back into the strings and induce more voltage in a passive pickup than I find my traditionally built guitars do.

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 1:53 pm While I agree with Pat’s sentiments, it seems Madhatter10-6 may share my nature as a relentless tinkerer and tone-chaser.

Yeah I get that.
I also like to try various pickups but I keep coming back.
I had Steve Blutcher make me a PAF style pick up for my first Deluxe. The change in tone was so negligible as to be insignificant.
I get much more “juice” from a PEQ at the input on the Axe FX.
And the Gen1 are flattish enough to respond very well to EQ in the AxeFX.
Therefore my 2 cents.
But be my guest, tinker away.
But I agree with Marc. Don’t send your guitar to Ed.

Patzag wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 5:52 pm But I agree with Marc. Don’t send your guitar to Ed.

He'd need to set the guitar on fire to do that.

Patzag wrote: ↑Fri Oct 07, 2022 5:52 pm
Yeah I get that.
I also like to try various pickups but I keep coming back.
I had Steve Blutcher make me a PAF style pick up for my first Deluxe. The change in tone was so negligible as to be insignificant.
I get much more “juice” from a PEQ at the input on the Axe FX.
And the Gen1 are flattish enough to respond very well to EQ in the AxeFX.
Therefore my 2 cents.
But be my guest, tinker away.
But I agree with Marc. Don’t send your guitar to Ed.

Thanks for the feedback / input on this. I have been a part of lots of forums that have supported various hobbies over the years and getting to learn from people that have gone before is extremely beneficial.

I am currently running my AXEFX through two Atomic and the sound is great....so maybe Ill just keep tweaking there.

Thanks so much for your time!

A pleasure.
It’s good to have you here. Keep sharing your experiences!

I actually talked to Ed Roman for quite a while over the phone about 20 years ago seeking parts for my Steinberger. The most charitable way I can say it is that he was a serial exaggerator / fabricator and not a person I'd ever do business with. He died in 2011 but there's no chance I'd give any business with his name on it a dollar of my money nor allow them to work on any of my guitars.

Have you tried adjusting the pickup heights of the Gen 1s? I've found that they respond very significantly to that adjustment and usually assume that the people who think they sound "sterile" have them down too far from the strings. I also usually back off the tone control significantly on the bridge pickup since the Parker tone control does not respond like [insert common guitar]. Pickups are borderline snake oil because there are practically no pickup manufacturers who provide measurements that can inform you how a pickup will actually sound compared to what you already have.